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Family history, creativity, creative options family histories, cousins sharing family stories
Family stories
Fun things to do on Thanksgiving
hanukkah family traditions, hanukkah traditions, memories of hanukkah, hanukkah activities,
Holocaust recipes, Recipes Remembered: A Celebration of Survival by June Feiss Hirsch
meaningful gifts, gifts that matter, do it yourself personal histories, life stories, oral history
Passover memories, Easter memories, modern day exodus from Egypt
personal history, oral history
Personal history, oral history, holocaust testimonies, Columbus Jewish Federation, community service
Pictures telling stories
preserving memories for those with cognitive impairment, alzheimers
reminiscence, life review, personal narratives in medicine,satisfaction in storytelling
social service, hospice volunteers, Dan Curtis, Association of Personal Historians
Thanksgiving activities
Thanksgiving recipes, Heirloom Cookbooks, family history, recipes as family history
Thanksgiving stories
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Chronicle Your Life Story Blog
Family stories
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Posted on Wednesday, June 15, 2011 7:15 AM
Just read a review for what appears to be a fabulous new book for all who are interested in preserving personal and family histories-- or history in general for that matter-- through recipes. Holocaust survivors offer the stories of their lives and their survival, along with their recollections of family recipes. For many, these recipes are all that remain of their families. Apparently, unlike other collections of recipes from the Holocaust, all of the recipes have been tested and modified as necessary so one can make them with currently available ingredients.
Take a look at it on Amazon. I just ordered one for myself and each of my children.
http://www.amazon.com/Recipes-Remembered-June-Feiss-Hersh/dp/0983486301/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1308086645&sr=8-1 |
Family stories, meaningful gifts, gifts that matter, do it yourself personal histories, life stories, oral history, Family history, creativity, creative options family histories, cousins sharing family stories, Personal history, oral history, holocaust testimonies, Columbus Jewish Federation, community service, personal history, oral history, Holocaust recipes, Recipes Remembered: A Celebration of Survival by June Feiss Hirsch
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Posted on Monday, March 28, 2011 8:56 AM
This past week I had the good fortune of meeting with two other women who are involved in working with people to preserve their life stories. The meeting was arranged by one of the women, who realized that we are all members of the Association for Personal Historians, and that we live in close proximity to each other.
What immediately became apparent in our discussion was how passionate each of us is about this pursuit of preserving personal histories, but that each of us approaches it from very different angles. As anyone who reads this blog probably knows, I am working with people to preserve their stories in a video format, creating both video memoirs and narrated video photo albums. Pam Spence, www.pamspence.com, offers a range of services including assisting people in writing their personal memoirs and ethical wills, conducting oral histories, and creating annotated photo albums and family cookbooks with stories incorporated into them. Pat White, www.postersastherapy.com, creates wall posters for people with cognitive impairment. These posters are created using the individual's photos, with each photo captioned. Not only do the pictures on the poster aid in keeping memories alive and provide comfort for those with memory impairment, but they have the added benefit of being a conversation assist for those who visit. In addition, for those who live in a nursing home or other facility, the presence of this poster helps caregivers see the individual as a unique person who has had a full life and meaningful connections--not just as a patient with a disorder.
If any of you readers would like to share your ideas for other ways to preserve people's life stories--and family histories--please do.
 An example of Pat White's posters |
Family stories, Pictures telling stories, meaningful gifts, gifts that matter, do it yourself personal histories, life stories, oral history, Family history, creativity, creative options family histories, cousins sharing family stories, reminiscence, life review, personal narratives in medicine,satisfaction in storytelling, preserving memories for those with cognitive impairment, alzheimers
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Posted on Tuesday, December 28, 2010 12:37 PM
Today's topic is Be creative--Better late than never (of course as this pertains to Chronicling Life Stories). I come to this topic after having just completed a project for someone whose mother had six siblings. My client's mother and all of the siblings were deceased except for one. However, my client felt strongly about preserving the stories of her mother's family life. Her idea was to get the children of all the siblings to share the stories they knew of their parents' lives, of course together with the sibling who was still alive. So this is exactly what we did--taking advantage of the time when family members from all over the country were gathering for a family event.
If I do say so myself, the DVD we produced from this conversation was quite special. However, as in so many personal history projects in which I've been involved, I think the process itself became very meaningful for everyone who participated. Each person in the group took the time to dig up old pictures, documents, letters and writings from their parent--and although some of the stories told were known to all, many of the stories about grandparents, and about each others' parents, were heard for the first time that day.
So, despite my warnings on my website about not missing opportunities to chronicle life stories, if you do, be creative. There may be other options for capturing, preserving, and passing on your family history.
I once went to a workshop of creativity in which the speaker, Artie Isaac, made the observation that creative people are those who say yes and not no to the ideas they have. In other words, creative people run with their ideas. They don't automatically nix ideas that seem to difficult or far-fetched. So, if you have a creative idea for a family history project--run with it a little. Don't be intimidated by the practicalities. |
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Posted on Sunday, November 28, 2010 12:04 PM
This year, the first night of the 8-day holiday of Hanukkah begins on December 1st. Hanukkah is another great time to gather family history, and there are so many ways to do this. Try having everyone share their favorite Hanukkah memories. Ask the "elders" in the family what they remember of how they celebrated Hanukkah when they were children--or what they know of how their parents and grandparents celebrated. I know that my father told me that his favorite Hanukkah as a child was when he received a fresh orange as a gift. Apparently an orange was not something that was easily obtained in Lithuania.
Also elucidating is to ask others about their families' Hanukkah traditions. Often you'll find that different branches of the family celebrate the holidays in different ways. We have cousins who rather than giving Hanukkah gifts each night, give a gift only on one night. On other nights they do something special or meaningful, and related to Hanukkah. So, one night they might make traditional Hanukkah latkes (potato pancakes), one night they might attend a Hanukkah party at their local home for the aged, one day they might volunteer to read Hanukah stories to the children at their Jewish Center's after school daycare program, etc. On a lighter note, we also have family members who celebrate Hanukkah each year by watching reruns of Saturday Night Live's Hanukkah Harry.
For fun, click on the link or picture below.
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Posted on Sunday, November 21, 2010 9:33 AM
As discussed in previous posts, Thanksgiving can be the perfect time to gather and record family memories, through sharing family stories and pictures. Another wonderful way to preserve family history is through family recipes. Try asking everyone to bring their favorite family recipes to Thanksgiving dinner. You could ask everyone to bring a favorite family Thanksgiving recipe, but really, Thanksgiving could just be the time to begin gathering any and all favorite family recipes. Recipes could be old--from parents, grandparents and further back--or recipes can be ones your family enjoys right now, as preserving family history for the future means preserving the present as well.
Once you have the family recipes, you can copy and distribute them to all your family members. There also are many other great options, though, for creating a professional looking Heirloom Cookbook. In general, Heirloom Cookbooks include not only recipes. They also can include pictures, stories, family trees--whatever you have that would tell your family stories. Here are two sites that can help you get started: www.heritagecookbook.com and www.platefullofmemories.com.
Following is a recipe for my mother-in-law's pie crust recipe, which she got from a friend, who inherited it from her mother. My husband and children insist that this is the best pie crust ever!
For 2 crusts:
2 c sifted flour 4 heaping T Crisco 1/4 c orange juice pinch of salt
Mix flour and Crisco in a bowl. Add orange juice and salt. Cut in half and refrigerate. Then flour a board, roll out, and use with your favorite filling.
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Posted on Monday, November 15, 2010 11:38 AM
As we all have experienced, a picture (and I'll extend that to other visuals as well) can say a thousand words.
Another idea for Thanksgiving is to ask each guest to bring to Thanksgiving dinner a picture or any other item related to a memory they have of Thanksgiving--or to a family story about Thanksgiving. For those people who don't have a picture or item related specifically to Thanksgiving, they can bring something related to the topic of giving thanks. Dinnertime can then be a time to go around the table and have each person tell about the picture or item they brought. Again, don't forget to have a camcorder or audio recorder going if possible--or at least someone taking notes--because during this exercise you'll be sharing memories, but making them as well.
And don't worry if there are guests at the dinner who are not family. It's a fun way to learn more about friends and their families as well.
Below is a Thanksgiving "visual" that I plan to share this year. I found it when I was cleaning out one of my drawers. It's a note that my youngest daughter gave to me and my husband at Thanksgiving, when she was 6 years old. She's 23 now.
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